Please submit only technical tips that will help other TidBITS readers better use their Macs, iPhones, iPads, and related software and hardware. All product announcements should be sent to releases@tidbits.com.

Tip title*

Your tip*

URL

Enter the URL to a Web page that supports your tip.

Linked text

Enter the name of the page linked above.

Your name*

Your email*

* indicates required fields

To help us avoid automated posts and spam, please enter the words below.

When you submit a tip, you give us permission to use it. Read our terms for more details. All submissions are reviewed before publication.

Our terms: By submitting a tip, you agree to assign TidBITS Publishing Inc., a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual license to reproduce, publish, and distribute your tip in connection with the TidBITS Web site and associated products in any media. You agree that you created the content you submitted, and that you have the right to assign us this license. You give us permission to use your name, but your email address won't be publicly displayed or shared. We review all submissions before publication, and reserve the right to select which submissions we feel are appropriate for our readers and to edit those we publish.

Our terms: We reserve the right to edit or delete any comment, so please post thoughtfully. We use your email address only to send you a one-time verification message confirming that you posted this comment. We also store your address to allow you to verify using other Web browsers in the future. For more info, see our privacy policy.

View Extra Battery Details in Snow Leopard

In Snow Leopard, Option-click the Battery icon in the menu bar to show the battery's current condition - Normal is good. Other messages might read Replace Soon, Replace Now, Check Battery, or Service Battery. Choosing the message opens a Mac Help document with more information.

iPhoto Book Available Internationally

iPhoto Book Available Internationally -- I was surprised and distressed to discover that Amazon wouldn't let international buyers of my iPhoto for Mac OS X: Visual QuickStart Guide book download the electronic version in advance of receiving the paper version. (See "New Book Documents iPhoto Features and Quirks" in TidBITS-626.) I've been working with Peachpit to figure out some way around this problem, and I think I've found one. It's not ideal, but it should work. Go to the book's page in the Peachpit catalog and work through the process of buying the book. When you're done, Peachpit will send you email with the information you need to download the book, and you'll of course receive the paper version of the next edition.

Here are the problems, and I apologize in advance for not being able to figure out any better way to offer international ordering in the time available. First, the book costs $16 instead of the $14 at Amazon. Second, when you get to the actual order form, ignore the comment about ordering from an international office (they may not know about the book's PDF version) and enter your country in the Special field. Third, international shipping is a rather high $14 and can take a long time. One of the problems with trying new distribution approaches is that you realize just how much trial-and-error has gone into the traditional methods; hopefully we'll have this working more smoothly for future efforts. [ACE]

READERS LIKE YOU! Support TidBITS by becoming a member today!Check out the perks at <http://tidbits.com/member_benefits.html>Special thanks to Gerrit Volck, David Ragsdale, Steve Brownfield, and
Teddy Scott for their generous support!